NEWS BRIEFING
Helicopter crashes on roof
of NYC skyscraper; pilot killed
The crash near Times Square and Trump Tower shook the 750-foot-tall AXA Equitable building and forced office workers to flee on elevators and down stairs.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who spoke to reporters at the scene, said the impact caused a fire, but it was under control.
The pilot was believed to be the only one aboard, and there were no other reports of injuries, authorities said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the crash, or why the Agusta A109E was flying in tightly controlled airspace in midtown Manhattan.
A flight restriction in effect since President Donald Trump took office bans aircraft from flying below 3,000 feet within a 1-mile radius of Trump Tower, which is located less than a half-mile from the crash site.
The crash happened around 2 p.m., when clouds obscured the roof of the building. The response by rescue trucks swarming the building immediately evoked memories of the Sept. 11 attacks.
“If you’re a New Yorker, you have a level of PTSD, right, from 9/11. And I remember that morning all too well. So as soon as you hear an aircraft hit a building, I think my mind goes where every New Yorker’s mind goes,” Cuomo said.
Videos posted by onlookers showed emergency vehicles in the street, but no obvious damage to the skyscraper.
California man guilty of killing family of 4 found in desert
After a trial that depended largely on circumstantial evidence, jurors in San Bernardino found Charles “Chase” Merritt, 62, guilty of the first-degree murders of business associate Joseph McStay, McStay’s wife, Summer, and the couple’s 3- and 4-year-old sons.
Prosecutors said Merritt killed the family with a sledgehammer at a time when he owed McStay money and was being cut out of the victim’s business making and selling custom water fountains.
The McStay family vanished in 2010.
Trudeau announces Canadian ban on single-use plastics
Trudeau said the specific items to be banned will be determined based on a science-based review, but the government is considering items such as water bottles, plastic bags and straws.
Trudeau said his government is drawing inspiration from the European Union’s Parliament, which voted overwhelmingly in March to impose a wide-ranging ban on single-use plastics to counter pollution from discarded items that end up in waterways and fields, causing harm to birds and sea animals. Legislatures of the EU member states must vote on the measure before it takes effect.
Less than 10% of plastic used in Canada gets recycled.
Director of Naval War College reassigned pending probe
The Navy announced the reassignment of Rear Adm. Jeffrey Harley, who has been criticized for allegedly spending excessively, abusing his hiring authority and otherwise behaving inappropriately — including keeping a margarita machine in his office.
Harley later announced his departure to the campus located on Narragansett Bay in Newport by saying he was “stepping down.”
Asked to clarify, college spokesman Cmdr. Gary Ross told the AP on Monday that Harley was reassigned to Washington and had not resigned.
Indian court jails 3 for life in rape of 8-year-old girl
Three other policemen were sentenced to five years in prison for destroying evidence.
The girl, a member of a nomadic tribe, was grazing her family’s ponies in the Himalayan foothills when she was kidnapped in January 2018. Her body was found a week later.
The case sparked protests in Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region where rebels have been fighting for independence or unification with Pakistan.
Thousands of members of a radical Hindu group demanded the defendants’ release, insisting they were innocent.
US formally requests Assange’s extradition
A U.S. official who spoke on background to discuss a sensitive matter said the request was sent Thursday. The United States’ treaty with Britain required that the request be sent within 60 days of Assange’s April 11 arrest in London.
The same treaty bars the U.S. from prosecuting Assange for any alleged crimes beyond those outlined in the extradition request, unless those acts occur after his extradition. In an 18-count indictment filed last month, prosecutors charged Assange with violating the Espionage Act and conspiring to hack into a government computer.
“Infowars” show host Alex Jones on Monday signed his companies’ settlement agreement with Pepe’s creator, Matt Furie. The California-based artist said he didn’t authorize Infowars to sell a “MAGA” poster that depicts Pepe alongside images of Jones, President Donald Trump, far-right agitator Milo Yiannopoulos and other right-wing figures.
Furie had originally sought more than $1 million, Jones’ lawyer said.